The presenter said she felt “shaken, troubled, let down and worried” about the events that led to Phillip Schofield’s departure from the flagship ITV programme.
But it was the opening words of her address to the nation that caught the attention of many.
Seated next to her temporary co-host Josie Gibson, Willoughby said: “Right, deep breath. Firstly, are you OK? I hope so.”
The opening gambit confused many, as comedian and writer David Baddiel noted on Twitter.
He wrote: “When Holly Willoughby said ‘Firstly, are you OK?’ I genuinely thought she was talking to someone behind camera, before realising that of course she was talking to us, the great British deeply-traumatised by everything’s that happened on an ITV morning show public.”
And before too long, the words had been yanked from their original context and turned into something quite different … with references to TV shows, films and politics flooding in.
Phillip Schofield has denied grooming the younger male colleague he had an affair with as the former This Morning star gave his first interview since leaving the broadcaster.
He resigned from ITV last week and was dropped by his talent agency YMU after admitting to an “unwise but not illegal” relationship.
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Schofield had reportedly first met the man when he was 15 years old, but said the affair did not begin until he was much older and had begun working at ITV.
In an interview with The Sun, the 61-year-old presenter said: “I did not, I did not (groom him).
“There are accusations of all sorts of things. It never came across that way because we’d become mates. I don’t know about that.
“But of course I understand that there will be a massive judgment, but bearing in mind, I have never exercised that anywhere else.”
Schofield also said that his “greatest apology” was to his former lover, who has been brought the “greatest misery into his totally innocent life”.
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He added: “I am deeply sorry and I apologise to him because I should have known better…. I will die sorry. I am so deeply mortified.”
He also said he thought it “looked shocking” when an old photograph, featuring both him and the man who would later become his lover, emerged online.
Schofield also told the newspaper he did not “lie to protect” his career, but the colleague “didn’t want his name in public”.
He said it began in 2017 after a “consensual moment” in his dressing room and it was “not a love affair, it was not a relationship, we were not boyfriends; we were mates”.
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Schofield said his wife was “very, very angry” after he confessed to her, having previously denied the relationship.
He also said: “She got off a plane and I phoned her up and texted saying, ‘I need to talk to you’. She called back and I told her.”
The BBC is also set to release an interview with Schofield being questioned by Amol Rajan.
In a trailer, the presenter also told BBC News: “It was a totally innocent picture, a totally innocent Twitter follow, of which I follow 11,400 people, and then it was a completely innocent backwards and forwards over a period of time about a job, about careers.
“What’s wrong with that? What’s wrong with talking to someone no matter what age they are?
“Does that mean that if you’re following anyone on Twitter that you absolutely don’t talk to anybody else or you don’t give advice?”
He added: “The brief communications backwards and forwards up to the point that he came to work on This Morning I think was just chat.”
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Schofield clarified why his statement last week said the affair was “unwise”, and called it a “very, very grave error”.
He added: “It was consensual, but it was my fault.”
The GB News host, who previously co-presented the ITV daytime show with his wife Ruth Langsford, fired off a scathing tweet warning his former colleague that if he is “looking for a fight” he has “picked the wrong person”.
It came after his exit from the show earlier this month, following weeks of speculation over a feud with former co-host Holly Willoughby.
Over the weekend, former This Morning resident doctor Dr Ranj Singh claimed the show had “toxic” culture, saying he raised concerns about “bullying and discrimination” two years ago when he worked there and afterwards felt like he was “managed out” for whistleblowing.
On Monday, Phillip then shared a statement on his Instagram Story, claiming there is “no toxicity” at This Morning and “it’s the same handful of people with a grudge against me or the show who seem to have the loudest voice”.
“Schofield has just put out a delusional statement,” he wrote.
“I’m reluctant to give the liar any more publicity but believe me Pip if u r looking for a fight, u have picked on the wrong person!”
Schofield has just put out a delusional statement. Like Holly he puts it on Insta Stories so if it goes wrong there is no record after 24 hrs. I’m reluctant to give the liar any more publicity but believe me Pip if u r looking for a fight , u have picked on the wrong person !
ITV previously denied Dr Ranj’s claims of toxicity behind the scenes of This Morning, stating it had carried out a review after the complaint was made two years ago, while Dr Ranj still working on the show.
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“Following a complaint made by Dr Ranj, we appointed an external and independent advisor to carry out a review,” a spokesperson said.
“This external review found no evidence of bullying or discrimination.”
ITV also said it investigated “rumours of a relationship” between Phillip and the This Morning employee about three years ago but both parties “categorically and repeatedly denied” it.
A spokesperson for the broadcaster said on Saturday that ITV was “not provided with, and did not find, any evidence of a relationship beyond hearsay and rumour” when it looked into the matter in 2020.
According to The Mail On Sunday, Phillip first met the younger ITV colleague whom he later had an affair with when he was aged 15.
Lawyers representing Phillip have confirmed they met when the boy was 15, but said the affair began after he started working at ITV, and the man’s lawyers have also said that it started after he joined the broadcaster.
Dermot O’Leary and Alison Hammond appeared to reference the claims of “toxicity” at This Morning as the show aired for the first time since former host Phillip Schofield admitted having an affair with a younger male colleague.
It came after his exit from the show earlier this month, following weeks of speculation over a feud with former co-host Holly Willoughby.
Over the weekend, former This Morning resident doctor Dr Ranj Singh claimed the show had “toxic” culture, saying he raised concerns about “bullying” two years ago when he worked there and afterwards felt like he was “managed out” for whistleblowing.
With stories about the show continuing to made headlines, Dermot took a moment to address the matter at the start of Monday’s show as they welcomed Gyles Brandreth and Sonia Sodha for a news review item.
“We all know we happen to be in the news at the moment and of course we appreciate that but just from both of us, the whole team here, the crew, the guys downstairs, we love making this show for all of you,” Dermot told viewers.
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Dermot O’Leary and Alison Hammond on Monday’s This Morning
Alison added: “We really do and that’s exactly what we are going to do, we are going to continue to do that.”
Gyles also said: “We are very happy to be here, can I say that as well?
“This is a happy place to work, I enjoy coming in here and have done since I began coming in. We are happy people in a happy place.”
In a statement on Sunday, Dr Ranj said the “issues” at This Morning go “far beyond” the host.
He said: “I was on the show for 10 years and I genuinely loved and valued working there.
“However, over time, I grew increasingly worried about how things were behind-the-scenes and how people, including myself, were being treated.
“I didn’t know the truth about what was going on with Phillip, but I do know the issues with TM (This Morning) go far beyond him.
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“It takes more than one person to create a culture.”
Dr Ranj said he raised his concerns with senior executives at ITV but later “found myself being used less and less”.
“I even took my concerns directly to the top of ITV: the culture at This Morning had become toxic, no longer aligned with ITV values, and I felt like because I whistle-blew I was managed out,” he said.
An ITV spokesperson said: “We are sorry to read Dr Ranj’s post today.
“At ITV we are fully committed to providing every opportunity for anyone who works with us to raise any concern or comments they may have.
“Following a complaint made by Dr Ranj, we appointed an external and independent advisor to carry out a review.
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“This external review found no evidence of bullying or discrimination.”
ITV has also insisted that This Morning’s future is “not under review” following claims it could be axed in the wake of the controversy about Phillip’s affair.
Phillip Schofield on This Morning earlier this month
Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock
According to The Mail On Sunday, Schofield first met the younger ITV colleague whom he later had an affair with when he was aged 15.
Lawyers representing Schofield have confirmed they met when the boy was 15, but said the affair began after he started working at ITV, and the man’s lawyers have also said that it started after he joined the broadcaster.
ITV said it investigated “rumours of a relationship” between Schofield and the ITV employee about three years ago but both parties “categorically and repeatedly denied” it.
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A spokesperson for the broadcaster said on Saturday that ITV was “not provided with, and did not find, any evidence of a relationship beyond hearsay and rumour” when it looked into the matter in 2020.
Philip Schofield has issued this statement on Instagram:
“Now I no longer work on This Morning I am free to say this. I hope you have noticed that it’s the same handful of people against me or the show who seem to have the largest voice.” pic.twitter.com/XPBeNNHDkt
“Now I no longer work on @thismorning I am free to say this,” he wrote on his Instagram Story.
“I hope you have noticed that it’s the same handful of people with a grudge against me or the show who seem to have the loudest voice.
“This Morning is the best show to work on, with the best people.
“In all the years I worked there there was no toxicity.
“You can listen to those persistently loud voices if you like.
“But the thousands of guests over the years, thousands of staff and crew, hundreds of presenters and contributors all know, it is a family of wonderful, talented, kind, hard working people.”
On Friday, Phillip released a statement to the Daily Mail, in which he said he’d previously had a “consensual on-off relationship with a younger male colleague”, which he said was “unwise, but not illegal”.
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The news he would be leaving ITV altogether in light of his admission came just a week after he’d announced his exit from This Morning after 21 years, the reason for which he’s claimed is “unrelated” to his affair
Now Holly – who is currently on a break from the daytime show – has spoken out about the recent developments in a statement via her Instagram Stories which read:
“It’s taken time to process yesterday’s news. When reports of this relationship first surfaced, I asked Phil directly if this was true and was told it was not. It’s been very hurtful to now find out that this was a lie. Holly.”
Holly Willoughby has just shared this on Instagram:
“It’s taken time to process yesterday’s news. When reports of this relationship first surfaced, I asked Phil directly if this was true and was told it was not.
Holly and Phillip had co-hosted the ITV daytime show together since 2009 – having first been paired up on Dancing On Ice in 2006 – with Phillip originally joined the presenting team in 2002.
After Phillip’s exit from the show last week, Holly posted a short statement on Instagram, in which she thanked him for “his knowledge, his experience and his humour”, adding: “The sofa won’t feel the same without him.”
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Phillip said his departure from the show had “fuelled speculation and raised questions” about previous suggestions of a relationship between him and a former colleague on the show, stating it was now “important for me to be honest”.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Phillip said: “I am making this statement via the Daily Mail to whom I have already apologised personally for misleading, through my lawyer who I also misled, about a story which they wanted to write about me a few days ago.
“The first thing I want to say is: I am deeply sorry for having lied to them, and to many others about a relationship that I had with someone working on This Morning.”
“I did have a consensual on-off relationship with a younger male colleague at This Morning,” he confirmed. “Contrary to speculation, whilst I met the man when he was a teenager and was asked to help him to get into television, it was only after he started to work on the show that it became more than just a friendship.
“That relationship was unwise, but not illegal. It is now over. ”
Phillip Schofield left This Morning last week
Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock
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Phillip then insisted that when he came out as gay in February 2020, he “did so entirely for my own wellbeing”, and was not “forced” to do so.
“In an effort to protect my ex-colleague I haven’t been truthful about the relationship,” he said. “But my recent, unrelated, departure from This Morning fuelled speculation and raised questions which have been impacting him, so for his sake it is important for me to be honest now.
“I am painfully conscious that I have lied to my employers at ITV, to my colleagues and friends, to my agents, to the media and therefore the public and most importantly of all to my family. I am so very, very sorry, as I am for having been unfaithful to my wife.
“I have therefore decided to step down from the British Soap Awards, my last public commitment, and am resigning from ITV with immediate effect expressing my immense gratitude to them for all the amazing opportunities that they have given me.
“I will reflect on my very bad judgement in both participating in the relationship and then lying about it.”
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He also called for the media to respect the privacy of his unnamed former colleague.
Phillip’s statement was published shortly after it was revealed he had parted ways with his management company, YMU, after 25 years.
YMU’s CEO Mary Bekhait said: “Honesty and integrity are core values for YMU’s whole business, defining everything we do. Talent management is a relationship based entirely on trust.
“This week, we have learned important new information about our client Phillip Schofield. These facts contradicted what Phillip had previously told YMU, as well as the external advisors we had brought in to support him. As a result, on Thursday we agreed to part company with Phillip, with immediate effect.”
Bonnie Tyler’s Total Eclipse Of The Heart is a karaoke classic we’ll probably never forget the words to.
Awkwardly, it doesn’t appear the same can be said for Bonnie Tyler herself.
The singer seemingly suffered a miming fail during a performance on This Morning on Wednesday.
The legendary Welsh star joined guest hosts Josie Gibson and Craig Doyle on the sofa for a chat on the ITV daytime show, before taking to the stage to belt out her signature hit, which has just turned 40 years old.
However, part way through the performance, Bonnie appeared to forget the words and stopped singing.
Unfortunately for her, however, the lyrics carried on playing, despite her lips not moving, leading many to deduce she’d been miming.
Seemingly realising the gaffe, Bonnie could be seen turning away from the cameras before trying to get the rest of the performance back on track.
Earlier on the show, Bonnie had said she never gets sick of singing Total Eclipse Of The Heart.
“I never get bored of singing it. I always do it during all of my shows and always look forward to it coming up in my set.
“The punters always love it.”
We’re sure that this rendition is one they won’t be forgetting in a hurry.
This Morning has come under fire over comments made by presenter Alison Hammond and guest Vanessa Feltz about singing along at musicals, which were branded “incredibly stupid”.
On Friday’s programme, Alison and co-host Dermot O’Leary were joined by guest Vanessa Feltz where they discussed the banning of singing at the Manchester production of The Bodyguard musical.
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Ahead of each performance at the Palace Theatre, staff carry signs asking the audience to ‘refrain from singing’.
Reading off a script during Friday’s show, Alison said that staff were taking the new rules “very, very seriously” and are “regularly walking up and down the aisles.”
As Dermot burst into laughter, Alison said: “I can’t believe it. I’d be devastated. I’m not even going to go to that show now.”
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Vanessa then added: “Isn’t the whole point of going to a musical that you know that you sing along to all the bits you know and when you don’t know the words you just make them up.
“Isn’t that what everybody does? And very, very loudly while eating an ice cream.”
Many viewers and performers have shared their outrage over the comments made on This Morning, with theatre actor Alice Fearn, who stars in the musical Wicked, describing them as “so incredibly stupid”.
“Who the hell do they think you are?! I am incredibly disappointed with all of the presenters here,” Alice tweeted.
“To actually think you have the RIGHT to sing along to a professional production is mind-blowing to me. If you want that… go to karaoke. I’m totally furious.”
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To actually think you have the RIGHT to sing along to a professional production is mind blowing to me. If you want that… go to karaoke. I’m totally furious 🤬
Oh no @AlisonHammond not this! So disrespectful to the training and dedication that goes into singing and acting a show 8 times a week, let alone to the person sat next to you that has paid to see that trained and dedicated person. Please think before you speak. 🙈#itsnotkaraokehttps://t.co/bUhgeEvGQD
2nd tweet goes to @VanessaOnAir. Please please please do not eat or sing loudly over someone trying to do their job. The amount of training and discipline that goes into singing 8 shows a week is something that deserves respect. Go to karaoke if you want to sing along. https://t.co/bUhgeEvGQD
Also, most members of the audience have paid good money to hear the professional cast sing the songs, not hear you wailing along and making up the lyrics. If you want to do that, go to a karaoke or stay at home and sing along to the film.
ABSOLUTELY! Don’t belittle the performers by thinking you are anywhere near their level of professionalism and don’t disrespect the other audience members who have paid to see the performers sing, not the audience. Have some class!
I 100% agree with you. When I go to the theatre, I go because I want to see and hear the trained, professional performers. I don’t pay good money for a ticket to have it ruined by fellow theatre goers singing along or talking in loud voices.
— Lisathebooklover18 📚💙 (@lisalovesbooks6) April 8, 2023
Absolutely. So presumably @AlisonHammond would enjoy sitting through a play while the person next to her speaks the lines out loud. What happened to basic courtesy to performers and other audience members?
Former Pussycat Dolls member Melody Thornton, who plays the lead role, spoke out after the last 10 minutes of the musical at the Palace Theatre was cut after some members of the audience refused to remain seated and refrain from loudly singing.
Speaking in a video posted to her Instagram story on Friday evening, Melody said: “I respect that you paid your money and I am so grateful to everyone who respects the people on stage who want to give you a beautiful show. For everything that happened tonight, I don’t have all of the details, I just am very, very sorry that we couldn’t finish the show. I fought really hard. It feels awful, and I just hope that we see you again.”
Theatre pulled the show at the end tonight because of disgusting behaviour. We wanted to carry on but it had become a major incident. I’m really sorry to what was 99.9% a brilliant audience that a few badly behaved individuals ruined it. https://t.co/quemi5Jmt5
The politician sat down with Rylan and Holly Willoughby on the ITV daytime show in June 2016, but writing in his new autobiography Ten, the former X Factor star alleged he was told that Johnson’s advisors felt he wasn’t “qualified enough” to do the interview.
Speaking about how he often faces snobbery around his interest in and commentary on politics, Rylan wrote (via Evening Standard): “In 2016 before the EU referendum, for example, I was due to interview Boris Johnson on This Morning.
“Then I found out he had threatened to pull out because his advisers heard that I was standing in for Phillip Schofield that day.
“Apparently they thought I wasn’t ‘qualified enough’ to ask him questions.
“Obviously, This Morning didn’t tell me this, and I’m sure it wasn’t Boris who said it, it was probably someone on his team, and I did eventually interview him, but how do they know if I’m qualified or not?”
HuffPost UK has contacted Boris Johnson’s team for comment and is awaiting a response.
Earlier this year, Rylan hit out at the Tory party during an appearance on The Last Leg and called on MPs to “run the country right, look after people in this country and stop being a fucking arsehole” amid in-fighting in the Conservatives.
A This Morning competition has been dubbed “dystopian” and like something out of Black Mirror after offering viewers the chance to have their energy bills paid for as a prize.
Monday’s edition of the ITV daytime show saw the return of its popular Spin To Win game, which usually sees cash prizes or holidays up for grabs.
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However, amid the energy crisis, a change to the format has seen the introduction of the chance to win four-months’ worth of bills covered.
Many fans couldn’t quite believe things had reached a level where this was being offered as a competition prize, as the nation looks towards a bleak winter amid soaring energy costs.
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That spin to win your energy bills on this morning is so bleak. We’re living in an episode of black mirror.
#ThisMorning having ‘energy bills’ as a prize on their Spin To Win is the most dystopian and sad reflection on society right now… How did we get to this point? Madness.
HuffPost UK has contacted an ITV spokesperson for comment.
Monday’s edition of Spin To Win did indeed see the caller – who said he had a pre-payment metre, which he described as “absolutely murder” – win the cost of his energy bills covered.
Truss promised to introduce help to all struggling households facing soaring energy bills within a week during a BBC interview on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, but did still did not reveal any more details.
But as the Harry Potter actor appeared on the ITV daytime show on Monday, she promised not to cause chaos, only to end up doing exactly that.
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Miriam had Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield in stitches after accidentally swearing as the hosts voiced their disappointment that she wasn’t letting rip as usual.
“I have to watch myself,” she told the pair.
“It’s such a shame because we love it when you just let rip,” Phillip told her.
“I know but it upsets some people,” Miriam said. “And I don’t want to upset people because the whole thing is, life is shit at the moment, it really is. It’s terrible.”
As Phillip and Holly offered a swift apology to viewers for her swearing, Miriam then realised her mistake and let out a sigh.
Miriam Margolyes quickly realised her mistake
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“Oh, I’ve let myself down,” she admitted, as Phil and Holly exploded with laughter.
“Amazingly, while you were apologising,” Phillip said.
“I just want to make people happy!” she said, as Holly replied: “You make us very happy let me tell you.”
Phillip and Holly were left in stitches
Of course, this being Miriam, there were more outrageous moments during her chat, not least when chat turned to the bottle of tomato juice that had been left for her in her dressing room.
“I love it, it bites you as it goes down. And you know, your anus contracts with delight,” she said.
